Australia's Jeff Horn travels to Vegas to defend his WBO welterweight world title, which he won from Manny Pacquiao, just under a year earlier. Horn defends against Terence Crawford, former WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO light welterweight world champion, and former WBO lightweight world champion. Crawford, ranked by many as the best fighter in the world, and a very heavy favourite to beat the champion.

Horn is aggressive, awkward, lands a couple of big right hands, but Crawford, slicker, more controlled, and lands more punches in the first two rounds.

Crawford has a great third round, allowing Horn to get off with very little, and what he hits Horn with seems to be more powerful than earlier in the fight. Horn is still light on his feet, active in round 4, but he can't pin Crawford down, and Crawford lands clean shots, does good work.

Crawford starts to punish Horn in round 5, as Crawford finds it easier to stand his ground than earlier, and is able to make Horn walk into hurtful punches. Horn looks predictable in round 6, keeps trying to pressure Crawford, force him to fight his fight, but Crawford seems to have too much control.

Horn does better in round 7, but is still unable to get the better of Crawford for a sustained period of time or hurt him at all, and is still caught with the better punches, hit more often. Crawford looks very dominant in round 8, he begins to punish and hurt a tiring Horn, he nearly drops him late in the round.

Horn doesn't seem to be in the fight anymore in round 9, and he is getting hurt, he looks to have almost had the fight beaten out of him, he isn't going to quit. Crawford drops Horn heavily, Horn gets up, but after a sustained onslaught from Crawford, against a defenceless Horn, Robert Byrd stops the fight, arguably prematurely, but it seems Crawford was going to stop Horn decisively or not, sooner or later.

I think Horn will begin the fight with a lot of lateral movement, I think because Crawford is more at home in a world level fight, he can be patient, he can be composed, be fairly light on his feet, but without having to be physically so active he is taking a lot out of himself. I think Horn, a little bit like against Pacquiao, will run at Crawford well within the first minute of the fight, I don't think he will corner Crawford and thump him like he did to Pacquiao in the first round of that fight, and I think Crawford will hold his own, stamp his own degree of authority by landing a few good, clean counters, but I think he will be slightly overwhelmed, overpowered, and a big welterweight who is a bit dirty, throwing a lot of punches at him, will take a some getting used to, as Horn gets him on the ropes, and bombards him with clusters of punches at angles, in variety. I think for 2 rounds, it will be basically even, Horn will do most of the work, overpower Crawford, and take him out of his element, make it rough, but Crawford will be calm, land with the cleaner punches.

I think Crawford will seem to edge out and steal round 3 by finishing with a great, clean combination, but Horn will prove he is still more than in the fight, as he has his best success in the next round, lands a massive right hand to probably steal the round, and shot which hurts Crawford a little bit, but the favourite takes it well.

I think in rounds 5 and 6, as Horn is still strong, but working himself ragged trying to sustain his superior physical strength, unable to build on or repeat the big right hand he landed in round 4, and Crawford, showing great preparedness, making Horn miss, and just point picking, with sharp, accurate punches, most of them straight shots.

I think rounds 7 and 8 will be brilliant for Crawford, as Horn starts to struggle for pace, and Crawford begins to overlap his attacks with really vicious, painfully accurate head/body attacks. Crawford will look like he is absolutely taking over as he punishes looks to be beginning to beat up a weary looking Horn.

I think in the last third of the fight, it will be interesting, I think Crawford will struggle slightly with the adjustment of doing the distance with the extra weight, and his output might be slightly compromised, and his mobility maybe slightly as well, but Horn, also tired, and more tired, having missed a lot, drained his legs with a lot of movement, and taken a lot for energy sapping punches. I think in maybe round 9, knowing he is behind might spur Horn on, but Crawford will not surrender a round I highly doubt, and it will just become a more competitive fight that Crawford seems to still be winning comfortably. I think in the last few rounds, Horn will absolutely empty his tank going for the finish, and at times, he might still be able to push Crawford back, out work him, but I think when Horn slows down for a second, and Crawford gets the timing and positioning right, he can hurt Horn badly, and build on it, not as well as he would if he was an adpated 147 fighter though, and I think he will struggle for pace himself after a big attacking onslaught, having not put Horn down, and Horn may drag some inspired punches out of himself that hit a tired Crawford, but Crawford will still have more in the tank than Horn, and although Horn will rally, he won't really get the best of the last few rounds, even though he gets back into the fight and pushes Crawford hard.

I think Crawford will win clearly, quite comfortably, but will have been challenged, I think he'll win maybe 111-117/112-116 on all the cards, so definitely comfortable, but not necessarily a landslide.

If Horn puts up the effort I expect him to, and does as well as I think he will, I hope he finally gets the credit he deserves, I don't think he will beat Crawford, but I think he will exceed 99% of peoples' expectations.

I think this is a decent fight. It will be interesting to see if Terence Crawford can carry his success up to Welterweight. Most of all, given that Jeff Horn is the WBO champion, this fight is certainly one that is necessary to set up bigger unification fights in the future. I am very confident Crawford will win this fight, I think it is a 90/10 fight where he would have to do a lot wrong and Jeff Horn would have to do a lot right for Crawford to lose.

I think there are some potential outside factors that could have and will show in this fight. Regardless of if you think Horn won or not, the 117-111 Horn card would simply not have happened if the fight was in Las Vegas like this fight is. Crawford has fought in Las Vegas previously on undercards and in the main event versus Viktor Postol while Horn has never fought outside of Australia. Crawford is the fighter who the promoters want to win and he has a decent following, therefore I think if anyone will get the benefit of the doubt in this fight it will be Crawford.

For Crawford, this is his first fight at Welterweight. He is 30 years old and a decent sized fighter for Welterweight, 5’8 with a 70 inch reach. He had an okay amateur career with 70 bouts, but not a really notable one. He beat Mikey Garcia and Danny Garcia most notably, but lost to Danny Garcia, Sadam Ali, Ray Robinson, and Yordenis Ugas. Since turning pro, Crawford improved immensely. In my view, he has developed into the best pound for pound fighter in the world, and the most skilled fighter to begin his career in the 2000’s bar Andre Ward. He really does everything well, he has good power and speed, he can switch hit, he counter punches, and most importantly out-thinks his opponents. His first notable bout was when he beat Breidis Prescott, the Khan killer, on the undercard of the Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado rematch. He followed this up with defeats of Alejandro Sanabria and Andrey Klimov before getting his title shot versus Ricky Burns who was attempting to make the fifth defense of his WBO Lightweight title. Crawford outclassed Burns by a wide decision to win his first world title. He then faced the undefeated Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa, a former unified champion and Olympic Gold medal champion. Gamboa displayed his immense natural skill in the first few rounds and gave Crawford trouble with his incredible speed and offensive ability. Crawford adjusted to Gamboa and began to catch Gamboa, putting him down four times before the fight was stopped. Following this, he beat longtime contender Ray Beltran to win the vacant Lineal and Ring Magazine Lightweight titles. He then moved up, beat Thomas Dulorme to win the vacant WBO Super Lightweight title, and defended the titles against Dierry Jean and Henry Lundy. Crawford moved up in class following these bouts facing WBC Super Lightweight champion Viktor Postol, who had knocked out Lucas Matthysse to win his title. The fight was seen as a relatively even fight by most, but Crawford dominated and knocked down Postol to win a wide unanimous decision which saw him become the unified WBC and WBO Super Lightweight champion as well as winning the vacant Lineal and Ring Magazine titles. After a tune-up versus John Molina Jr, Crawford widely decisioned and dominated Felix Diaz, an Olympic Gold medal champion. In his last bout, Crawford faced Julius Indongo, the undefeated unified WBA and IBF Super Lightweight champion. Crawford dominated Indongo, knocked him down in the second and knocked him out in the third. This made Crawford the first undisputed four belt champion since Jermain Taylor beat Bernard Hopkins over a decade ago. Crawford had no business left at Super Lightweight and announced a move up to Welterweight. Crawford is most certainly leagues more skilled and experienced as a pro than Horn is, but moving up in weight is where people who doubt Crawford believe he will have trouble with Horn. I personally think his size will be a non-factor versus Horn. Crawford was a huge Super Lightweight, weighing in at 157 lbs after rehydrating from 140 lbs against both Postol and Diaz.

For Horn, this is his second true world level fight. He is also in his prime, at 30 years old and similarly sized at 5’9 with a shorter 68 inch reach. Horn had quite a good amateur career, most notably making the quarterfinals at the 2012 Olympics. Despite his amateur background, his style is not the most technically refined or complex in the world. He generally comes forward, tries to cut off the ring and crowd his opponent by throwing combinations in close. On his way to becoming a champion, Horn faced Randall Bailey, a huge puncher and former champion, and exchanged knockdowns in route to winning by a 7th round corner stoppage. Before getting his world title shot, he faced Ali Funeka, where he was cut and dropped before Horn dropped him twice and scored a 6th round technical knockout. Versus an aged Manny Pacquiao, he was seen as a huge underdog, but used his size and arguably dirty boxing tactics to crowd and wear down the much smaller Pacquiao. Horn was cut and nearly stopped by Pacquiao, but persevered and won a very controversial unanimous decision. He then won a tune-up fight versus Cary Corcoran where both fighters were cut and Horn scored a late corner stoppage. Simply put, the biggest problem for Horn is his skill level. Will he have enough skill to impose his style versus a true pound for pound level opponent?

I am very sure Crawford will win this fight. I believe he is simply too skilled for Horn and has looked increasingly sharp in recent fights. For Horn to win, he is going to have to make Crawford respect him early on, he is going to have to show a level of technical ability he hasn’t shown thus far in his career to get inside of Crawford’s counters and wear Crawford down. I do not believe Horn will be able to impose his size on Crawford, Horn was supposedly around 160 lbs versus Pacquiao for the 147 lbs weight limit and Crawford was 157 lbs versus Postol and Diaz. There is no way that Horn will outweigh Crawford, Crawford has a very good build for going up in weight classes and a good style for countering aggressive fighters. Unless Crawford comes in undertrained and with a complacent mentality, which has not been an issue with him before, I think Crawford will out-think and out-box Horn. Crawford will catch Horn with big counters, winning nearly every round, dropping Horn who has been hurt and dropped before and possibly getting a late stoppage or a wide unanimous decision.

If Crawford wins, this puts him right in the race for the best fighter in a loaded Welterweight division. He would likely have to take a lower level opponent or two before he gets a crack at the winner of Thurman vs. Spence which will likely happen in early 2019. Top Rank doesn’t really have any other good Welterweights to my knowledge except for Pacquiao, and I don’t think the Pacquiao fight will ever happen for Crawford. Pacquiao and his team seem to want absolutely nothing to do with him and it isn’t a fight I would want to see either. If Horn wins, we would have to say he is a pound for pound level fighter. I don’t know what Bob Arum would do if Horn won. I assume if Crawford loses, he would get an immediate rematch given what he has accomplished. If Horn loses, I think he can get some work at the contender level, he has the skill and style to have success there. Possibly the domestic matchup with Mundine is still on the table for him as a way to make money.

I think Horn just needs to do himself proud even if he loses by stoppage and it isn't close, he has already overachieved, I still think he will give Crawford problems, but I think Crawford will win by at least 4 points. Is Crawford top of your pound for pound list?

Yes even if he goes out on his shield fighting that would be fine. If I'm Horn I just don't want to let the fight get to the point of Postol or Diaz where Crawford is humiliating them. Yeah, he is at the top of my pound for pound list.

Crawford looked great on the scales, he really did fill out well at 147 lbs. A far cry from Mikey Garcia at 140 lbs. I will be interested to see the weights tomorrow if they are listed, Crawford looked ever so slightly shorter than Horn but as billed Crawford looks to be the real athlete in this bout.

Even though he is a one dimensional and limited boxer, I think Horn has a spot at around the title eliminator level, but he needs to make some changes. I believe his contract is up with Top Rank, so he may consider going over to PBC if possible to get into more relevant bouts at Welterweight. I don't think it will happen but most importantly he needs to get rid of Rushton and get a trainer that can give him a little more variety to set up his inside game. Rushton has got Horn to this level but he isn't a top-level trainer at all and both Horn and Rushton's limits certainly showed in this fight.

So you believe that Horn should stay with someone he has been with for years who hasn't been able to give him the offensive set-ups to utilize his strengths and gives little to no tactical advise in between rounds?

'Hasn't been able to give him the offensive set-ups to utilize his strengths?'.
That isn't the case, he has made him into a world champion, you do not have to have a big name to be a great trainer. If you think Horn was found wanting in terms of tactics, but others weren't, you must think he had the potential for much more, and if that is the case, you must think he is better than you have said many times!

Little to no tactical advice? He gave him loads of tactical advice until he wasn't making mistakes but was well behind and getting hurt, at that point, motivational talk is the main thing you are saying to your fighter. I think Rushton's 'off rhythm' tactics were smart, would have been very good for Horn, but he was in against Crawford, and like many good world level fighters, who don't need a new trainer, he got outclassed, and stopped, because he was in against Crawford, there were not tactical issues with Horn there, he was at his best, he just lost like that like Postol, Gamboa etc.

When you are biased, you can convince yourself of anything, just like with the Haye vs Bellew thing last week, when you look for a reason not to give a fighter any credit, you will find your reason, like with all that Lomachenko has a weak resume nonsense.

That is my point, he has got him to this point but this point is still limited and can definitely be improved on. Jumping in without a jab or barely jabbing at all is just not going to work, but that is what he was doing anyway. It isn't that I think he is a world title level fighter, it is just that there are obvious areas he can improve in.

What tactical advice did he give other than saying the broken rhythm stuff repeatedly? That works fine against lower level guys but Crawford was timing him and Horn was getting worn down because of it. The point is that his strategies may have worked versus lesser fighters but he can be better if he was slightly more versatile. Since you are speaking of Roach when you mention Postol, I actually think Roach would be a decent trainer to give Horn some more offensive options but that is never going to happen given what Roach has said about Horn.

The jab isn't always the best weapon, Crawford can nullify the jab, you have to break his rhythm, force him to fight a certain way, you can't let a fighter as good as Crawford fight his fight, and you cannot say a trainer is not good based on a loss to Crawford.

So Horn isn't as good as Felix Diaz, Julius Indongo, but he still did every bit as well as they did against Crawford, but they don't need a new trainer and Horn does? That must mean Horn has the potential for more which the others don't, so what would a better trainer have achieved with Horn? A clear round? Stopped 2 rounds later?, if this is the case, then why is Horn not as good Indongo and Diaz? Unless you agree with my point that he isn't necessarily as good as Indongo, Postol, but he had weight on his side.

It doesn't really matter if Crawford was outjabbing him, its that by jabbing Horn would be making himself more predictable and giving himself more looks which is the broken rhythm crap Rushton was talking about. I can say Rushton isn't good based on the fact he essentially only trains Horn who uses his physical abilities and not boxing skills to win fights.

Horn is a better opponent versus Crawford than Diaz or Indongo because he is a legitimate Welterweight, but that doesn't make him a better boxer overall. Horn has areas he can definitely improve in, if he had another trainer perhaps he wouldn't have been countered so easily due to rushing in without punching. It isn't just about the Crawford fight either, if he had another trainer perhaps he could do better in the future and get another world title opportunity. You'd think Rushton was training Joe Calzaghe by the way he kept repeating broken rhythm. When trainers just repeat the same thing over and over in between rounds, unsurprisingly, that doesn't actually help their boxer do better in the fight. Abel Sanchez did the same thing with Gassiev versus Usyk, telling him to throw more punches over and over.

Just watched a new show on ESPN+ called "In This Corner" with Chris Mannix. All of the panel, had Crawford. 2 by 10rd stoppage, one by UD, and Mannix had Crawford winning inside of 5. What do you think of that last one? I think Crawford wins, but hard to think it will be that quick. Mannix thought it would be due to Horn pressing early, and Crawford's pinpoint shots timing him out and finishing him.

The panel were all pretty good boxing minds. Mannix is Yahoo's main boxing writer, Keith Idec from Boxing Scene, George Willis from the NY Post, and Chris Algieri. It was a surprisingly good panel, and I hope they come back.

I get that, Crawford is the real deal with real power, just wondering if he will come out attacking like that coming off such a layoff. Either way, I am very much looking forward to it!

Meh, I'll take your word for it pal, the only one I would trust as a boxing expert there, is Algieri, but like I said, I'll take your word for it, I suppose Steve Farhood, Al Bernstein, Adam Smith, never been boxers, and they know boxing.

I get that, and you know what?, I think Horn will mall Crawford early, I think for 4 rounds, it might even be 2-2, I think Horn, with his relentlessness, weight advantage, he can give Crawford some problems, but the thing is, with that head on attacking, he makes himself vulnerable against a fighter like Crawford, because he coild find himself running into attacking flurries from Crawford, and as we saw against Gamboa, Postol, Crawford can be bery explosive, when the fight seems close for a minute like against Indongo, or you seem to be a little up in the fight like Gamboa might have been after 4, he can change it quickly, and suddenly become even more dominant than in fights he cruises past like Postol and Diaz, so Horn, if he looks good for a few rounds, seems to be outhustling, outworking Crawford, is the aggressor, etc, let's not think for a second he's isn't likely to have the tables turned on him like Gamboa and Indongo.

Terence Crawford is the best boxer in the world in my opinion!
That was a phenomenal performance from Crawford, he was hit with a few big shots early, pushed back, didn't hold his ground as well as usual, because of the size disadvantage he was at, but he carries the extra weight well, he adapted well, and he is so good, that down the stretch, any compromise in power, ability to sustain a high for a long time, due to the weight, wasn't an issue. Crawford, from round 5 onwards, just got more and more dominant, he is a professional, but he is a fighter, and mentally, he is as tough as they come, the desire of a bigger opponent who takes some of his bigger punches and keeps coming, not demoralising Crawford, not being inpatient, but waiting to gradually break down a tough opponent, and that's what he did, he was accurate, and he carries power, I think he knocked the stuffing out of Jeff Horn with the body shots, and then to finish him by mixing it up from head to body.

Jeff Horn should be very proud of himself, after all he has achieved, I wonder what the bullies are doing now, but none of them have ever been or will ever be a world champion, Horn beat Manny Pacquiao, and shared a ring with and landed clean on arguably the best boxer of his era. Horn did great, he is a really good, world class fighter, like Postol, like Indongo, but Crawford is so good he beats and destroys world class fighters. There was a lot of motivational talk from Glen Rushton, and at a certain point in the fight, there wasn't anything tactical he could tell him because he couldn't think of any adjustments which would make it easier for Horn to find the target and not be a target himself. It is great to have motivation, to have trained so hard, but the problem for Horn and his team, was that he was fighting a guy who could time him, and outstandingly accurate, versatile, defensively brilliant, tactical, busy, counter puncher, it is always hard when the other guy can time you, and because of the exceptional timing of Crawford, and the fact that he has no real weaknesses, Horn had nothing to target.

Horn might retire, but I think he still has a chance of winning a world title, he is a good world level fighter, but he will have to go back to the drawing board, this was a tough loss. Crawford should take a good title defence this year, and next year, maybe he could unify, Spence vs Crawford could be one of the biggest fights in boxing, that is the best potential fight in my opinion, but Thurman is coming back in August I believe, and Jose Benavidez did very well tonight, him and Crawford have a rivalry, wouldn't mind seeing that fight!